


Heartfelt

by Misos



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Nothing major though, White Day, other characters are briefly referenced, possible minor spoilers implied, takes place in the universe of the board game minigame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 09:23:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10273667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misos/pseuds/Misos
Summary: Kiibo needs to pay Miu back, but he has no idea how to do it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I live for DRV3 now, and I wanted to jump on the bandwagon with my friends. I wasn't expecting to like this ship before playing the game, but now it's my OTP. Who knew. I can't believe I'm actually posting pure fluff here. Who am I? "Cute" is never my goal. I guess I have to make exceptions for robots.  
> I considered tagging this as "Other" instead of "M/F", but I'm waiting for the localization before I get decisive about Kiibo's gender. Plus, he does play a male role in this fic.  
> And yeah, this is for the AU in the bonus mode where they go to Hope's Peak Academy with the characters from the first two games. Kiibo and Miu have some adorable interactions there.

It was March fourteenth, now _that_ was an objective fact. Kiibo was a boy, now _that_ …was somewhat less of an objective fact. But never mind that. A boy was what everyone called him, at any rate. Boys were meant to give return gifts to girls on this date–an objective fact again!

The final objective fact was that Iruma Miu had most definitely given him…something one month ago. Well, she had started by giving him the ability to _dispense_ chocolate, which she ate, and which he couldn’t. It wasn’t until Akamatsu had found out and told Iruma that she was being rather selfish that she got agitated and jury-rigged a hasty machine that she claimed would send chocolate signals to the taste receptors of the brain. Kiibo was pretty sure he didn’t have any taste receptors in his brain, but somehow it worked anyway. At least…he thought it did. It had been highly peculiar.

Whatever it had been, it was something he had to pay her back for on this day. That was the rule. It was also something he wanted to do, as a genuine gesture of appreciation. And…a way to get her to pay more attention to him. No, no, _that_ was selfish. He had to think of how she would benefit first and foremost.

There was one issue: He didn’t know what he was supposed to give her. He had to recognize his own shortcomings. He hadn’t learned everything yet, and he needed the help of some humans with better knowledge of this holiday. But he wasn’t sure who to ask, other than “not Ouma”. Maybe he should start with his friend, Saihara. He could call him his friend, right?

– – –

“Uhh… Um.” Saihara hadn’t said anything very helpful yet. He just stood there sweating, looking off to the side, and making noises of hesitation.

“Please!” Kiibo persisted. “There must be _something_ you know!”

“N–Not really,” Saihara stammered. “Not any more than you.”

“Then…do you at least know what Iruma-san would like?”

“Defini–I mean NO! No. I have no idea what she would like. A–At all.” Saihara laughed nervously.

Kiibo’s shoulders slumped. “I see. Thank you for trying, Saihara-kun.”

“Maybe you should ask…a girl,” Saihara suggested awkwardly. “They might know better than me.”

Kiibo stood up straight again. Of course! A girl! Toujou, definitely. She seemed very knowledgable. He bid Saihara farewell and went off in search of her.

– – –

“I apologize, Kiibo-kun, but my abilities do have certain restrictions.” Toujou set down her feather duster and clasped her hands. “I cannot offer romantic advice. That is not in a maid’s repertoire.”

“Even though hand-to-hand combat is?!” Kiibo asked in disbelief. “Why?”

“There are many reasons why it is unwise.”

“But…r–romance…is not even the right word!” Kiibo heard his own voice rise. He hadn’t meant to do that. “It is more like…a cultural inquiry!”

Toujou raised an eyebrow. “In that case, it sounds perfectly suited to Shinguuji-kun’s area of expertise.”

“Oh. That _is_ true.” Kiibo could not muster the same enthusiasm for this prospect that he had for the two previous ones. It was the logical thing to do now, but the idea of talking to Shinguuji about this seemed bad. Was this what they called “intuition”? Maybe he really was learning! That realization gave him the enthusiasm he needed.

– – –

Shinguuji was silent for just a little too long. Finally, “Ku. Ku. Ku. I see, I see. What a beautiful Day. What a beautiful creation you Are…”

Kiibo really wished he wouldn’t speak in that tone. He wasn’t entirely sure what that tone meant, but it sounded…inappropriate, and Shinguuji spoke in it far, far too often.

“So, you want my Advice? I am Honored.” There, he was still using it. It might even have been getting worse. “At the risk of assuming too much, I believe Iruma-san and I have certain things in Common… Perhaps you should give her a fine straw Rope. I shall help you select One.”

“…A rope?” Kiibo stared at the distressing boy. He wasn’t following.

“It would be somewhat breaking with Custom, but I feel the true beauty of humanity lies in the ability to create new customs–after all, she is a woman of modern Taste.”

Kiibo _really_ wasn’t following. “Er… Excuse me, Shinguuji-kun, but I have no idea what you are trying to say!”

“Kukuku, just give it to her, and you will Understand.” His tone was at its worst point yet.

“Then I will consider it,” Kiibo said, before turning to leave. He considered it in a millisecond and abandoned it. He could tell it was a bad idea. That was perhaps Shinguuji’s one appealing quality–he really brought out Kiibo’s potential for human instincts.

– – –

The next logical step was the person who seemed the _least_ likely to agree with Shinguuji on anything.

“Hmph, Kiibo-san…!” Chabashira squinted at him. “You do not have any…ulterior motives for this, do you? Tenko will subdue you if you do!”

Kiibo took a step back in alarm. “What do you mean?”

“It is a common male tactic to give girls gifts for manipulation purposes!” Chabashira declared. “You may be a robot, but Tenko must do everything possible to keep Iruma-san safe!”

“That is not it at all!” Kiibo protested. “I just want to show my gratitude!”

“Very well, but Tenko will be keeping her eye out!” she warned. “What do you want to know?”

“Chabashira-san seems to know a lot about girls, so what kind of thing would Iruma-san like?”

“‘Know a lot about’…!” Chabashira turned red. “P–Perhaps, perhaps–no, not really! Tenko wishes she did, but Iruma-san especially is hard to understand! Please forgive Tenko, but she is not able to speak of this yet! Someday, Tenko will have more knowledge!”

Kiibo wasn’t sure he understood that either, but at least it didn’t leave him as unsettled as Shinguuji’s idea. So this was another dead end. “Then, thank you for talking to me, Chabashira-san.” Now, someone who he could usually understand…

– – –

“Give her a ladybug!” Gonta said earnestly. “They’re very good gifts to give to ladies!”

“Oh, Iruma-san does not like insects,” Kiibo replied without thinking.

“…What?”

“I said, Iruma-san does not like insects,” he repeated. “I heard her say so.”

“YOU’RE LYING!”

Kiibo jumped, shocked.

Gonta’s brow was furrowed into an extreme scowl, his fists clenched and trembling. “THAT CAN’T BE TRUE! LADYBUGS ARE PRETTY, AND IRUMA-SAN IS A VERY PRETTY LADY! SHE _CAN’T HATE THEM!_ ”

“I…am sorry, but she does!” Kiibo exclaimed. “Really! I cannot lie! I am not Ouma-kun!”

Gonta yanked a nearby bench off the ground and threw it. It narrowly whistled past Kiibo’s head. “NO! STOP SAYING THAT!” he bellowed.

Kiibo trembled. Oh, dear. So much for understanding him. How was he to escape? He wasn’t strong or fast or agile. Especially not compared to Gonta.

“Gonta-kun, wait!”

Kiibo turned towards the source of the firm female voice. “Akamatsu-san!” he called in relief.

She clamped her hand over his mouth.

“Akmuts…snf?” Oh no, his voice was so muffled he couldn’t communicate. How was he to resolve the situation with Gonta now?

“Don’t worry!” Akamatsu yelled at the fuming Gonta. “Kiibo-kun’s malfunctioning! It’s not his fault! He just got rained on the other day!”

“‘m watroof!” Kiibo tried to argue.

Gonta didn’t seem to hear him. He reacted to Akamatsu, though, turning to her. “…Really?” he asked in a somewhat quieter voice. “It did rain two days ago. Gonta was helping the ants get shelter. Kiibo-kun didn’t get shelter?”

Akamatsu shook her head. “Nope, he got stuck in the rain! I thought he was fixed, but I guess he’s still a little confused. Come on!” She glanced over at Kiibo, but she didn’t take her hand off his mouth. “We should go find Iruma-san!” She yanked on his arm with her other hand.

Kiibo stumbled after her, feeling very indignant. He couldn’t malfunction like that! What a disgrace! Akamatsu was ruining his reputation! He thought she wasn’t supposed to be discriminatory against robots!

They halted a good distance away, where she finally let go of him.

“Akamatsu-san, why did you do that?!” he demanded. “Now Gonta-kun will think I am a poorly built robot!”

“I’m sorry I had to lie, but I was trying to save you!” she hissed. “That was the only way to get him to calm down!”

“How could a lie make him calm down? Ouma-kun’s lies do not calm me at _all_.” Kiibo sighed at those memories. At least she was admitting it was a lie.

“Just trust me, okay?” She smiled.

Kiibo nodded sullenly. “Oh, very well.”

“Now, I heard you wanted to give Iruma-san something today?”

Kiibo nodded much less sullenly. He’d almost forgotten about that!

“So how about we ask Angie-san if you can borrow her supplies and make her a nice picture or sculpture?” Akamatsu’s voice was reassuring. The opposite of Korekiyo, she made everything she said sound like a good idea.

“But…I am not good at art,” Kiibo had to admit. “I can only draw straight lines, and how do I even make a sculpture?”

“I’m sure Angie-san will have some advice!” Akamatsu assured him, and so he followed her to the workshop.

– – –

“Iruma-san, I have something for you!”

She turned, a scowl on her face. “Yeah? What?”

Kiibo held out his hand eagerly. “This is a miniature replica of my power core! I have my old schematics, so I know what it looks like! It does not have any functions, but I tried very hard to imitate its appearance!”

Iruma snatched it from him, and he was at first in terror she would break it, but she held it quite adeptly between two of her fingers. “Damn, that _is_ pretty detailed! Yours truly could do way better in my sleep, of course, but this could tell me some shit! This is really what it looks like, huh?”

“I think so! You see, I wanted to give it to you today because…” Kiibo paused. “…a power core…it is kind of like my heart, I think. A heart is a common symbol for holidays like these, and I do not have one, but I thought…this might work.”

Iruma froze mid-poking it. “Eh? Your heart?”

“It sounded like a nice thing to do!” Why did Kiibo’s processor feel like it was overheating? It shouldn’t be working that hard right now. “I wanted to thank you for a month ago, and also for helping me be a better robot, and teaching me a lot, and…spending time with me!” Could she hear his fans whirring? They seemed loud enough now. “Thank you, Iruma-san!” He attempted a bow, which resulted in him almost falling over. Thankfully he regained his balance.

“I–It’s not…nothin’.” Iruma wasn’t even looking at him. What was so interesting about the wall? “You’re interesting, is all. Working on you gives me more g–genius ideas. Ya don’t need to go as far as giving me your…heart.” She crossed her arms, looking feverish.

“It is just a replica! It serves as a…symbol?” That was what Angie had called it. “A symbol of my appreciation. Do you not like it?”

“I LIKE IT FINE, ASSHOLE!” Iruma yelled. She glanced at her trembling hand and stuffed the replica into her pocket. “I–I’ll put in my drawer, with all the…” Her voice trailed off and became inaudible. “Anyway, yeah! Th–Thanks.” She looked back at Kiibo then. “Hey, STOP LOOKIN’ AT ME! You some kinda perv who likes seeing me sweat?!”

“No!” Kiibo exclaimed in dismay. “Do not say such things! I was wondering if you were all right! You look like you have a fever! Should I take you to Tsumiki-san?”

Iruma scoffed. “Yours truly is doing absolutely perfectly, thank you very much! Now scram! I have another idea coming on and I gotta be alone!”

Kiibo was a little disappointed by that, but he acquiesced. “All right. I hope I did well. Good luck!” He turned to go. For a brief moment, he felt a damp hand ruffle his hair before withdrawing.

He whirled around, but Iruma was already running down the hall in the opposite direction, her boots making a tremendous racket. Ishimaru burst out of a nearby classroom and followed her, yelling something about detention, but Kiibo was already too lost in thought to pay him any mind.

 _Had_ he done well?


End file.
